Residents to be quizzed on waste and recycling options

Thursday 4 August 2016

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Sheffield residents are being asked to have their say on potential changes to their waste and recycling services.

Despite saving more than £6 million from the annual waste services budget in the past three years, the council needs to save a further £3.4million by 2017. Its plan is to increase the amount of recycling across the city and provide a more efficient service, without changing the collection frequency of black bins.

Residents are being asked for their views on increasing the variety of plastics collected for recycling, such as yogurt pots and margarine tubs; introducing a second recycling bin in place of blue boxes and changing recycling collection days so that blue bin and box collection days for individual households may not be the same days as black bin days.

People will be asked if a charge should be brought in for some households to replace lost or damaged bins and to provide bins to new properties.

They will also be asked if collections should be made earlier and later in the day from 6am in the morning and up to 9pm at night.

People in flats will be asked if the amount of capacity they are allocated for waste and recycling should be based on the number of occupants.

Councillor Bryan Lodge, Cabinet Member for Environment at Sheffield City Council, said: “How we get rid of our rubbish is everyone’s business, and we know that changes to bin services in Sheffield are usually hotly debated. We’re talking to residents at an early stage of these proposals to make sure we get the right balance between keeping their council tax bills low, making it easier for more people to recycle more and tackle the funding cuts from Government.

“We are certainly not cutting the frequency of black bin collections but want to ensure that the services we offer mirror the needs and lives of our residents.

“I would urge people to have their say so we can continue to prove that Sheffield is committed to being a green city.

Last year, Sheffield recycled 32 per cent of household waste and sent less than one per cent of waste to landfill, making it one of the best performing Authorities in the UK for landfill diversion.

Meanwhile, Sheffield is working with Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham to develop a South Yorkshire Waste Strategy. This strategy will set out how waste will be managed across South Yorkshire.

To take part in the Sheffield consultation, residents can visit the Sheffield City Council website at https://sheffield.citizenspace.com/place-business-strategy/future-waste-services/consult_view to complete an online survey from between midnight on 3 August and 15 September. There are two versions of the consultation, one being the main consultation, the other being targeted at residents living in flats.

Alternatively, residents can request a paper copy of the consultation by contacting Waste Management on 0114 2037621 or by email: wastemanagement@sheffield.gov.uk.

Following consultation, the feedback received will be considered and any changes will be submitted for Cabinet approval in the Autumn.